Baby, Its Cold Outside
by L. Carrigan
Summary: Twas Christmas Time at the Shay loft and love will be celebrated, lost, and declared. Multiple ships including Seddie! Follow up to Love Type Thing.
1. Goodbye, Leah Hello, Holidays

**Baby, it's Cold Outside**

**A/N:** I advise that you should read my previous fic _Love Type Thing _before reading this one. It's a follow up since there have been some of you who have been private messaging me asking for a sequel. I hope you're still reading and I hope this is to your liking! Its holiday themed because…yay Christmas! Also, this picks up where I last left off in the story so the kids will be in High School. Okay, enjoy!

Pairings: Seddie, Spencer/OFC, Carly/Jake, Spencer/Carly (bro/sis friendship), and one surprise pairing I _might _use as this goes.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except for Leah and Noah.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Goodbye, Leah. Hello, Holidays.**

It was morning at the Shay loft when a shivering Carly came down for breakfast and turned the heater on. She found Spencer, Leah, and Noah in the living room saying their goodbyes. Leah had to fly out to Los Angeles to cover a few fashion shows from independent designers. She was disappointed because the assignment left her not knowing whether she'd be back home in time to spend Christmas with Spencer, Noah, and Carly.

"Make sure you call when you get there okay?" Spencer asked.

"You know I will, babe" Leah replied giving him a sad smile.

"I don't want you to leave Mommy" Noah pleaded hanging on to her leg.

"Awww, sweetie" she picked Noah up "You're going to be having so much fun with Daddy, Granddad, and Auntie Carly! But I'll be back before you even know it, okay sweetness?" she kissed Noah on the cheek as he gave her one more big hug. She put him down as Carly came up to her.

"Come here, Girly" Leah hugged Carly.

"We're gonna miss you. Come home as soon as you can, alright?" Carly said.

After the hug, Leah turned to Spencer and gave him another sad smile while grabbing her luggage. "We have to get going. I don't want you to miss your flight…" Spencer grabbed his keys and jacket "Later Carls, I'm just gonna drop Leah off at the airport. Watch Noah for me, kay?"

"Got it, Spence! Bye Leah!" she waved as the two were on their way. As soon as they were gone, Carly went to Noah who was on the couch watching TV "Hey Noah, do you want some breakfast?"

Noah looked up at her "Yes!"

Carly carried the little boy over to the kitchen and had him sit on his high chair as she went to the counter and poured some hot apple cinnamon oatmeal into two bowls. And then went back to the table where she sat and ate with him. About a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Carly went to get it.

"Hey" Freddie said standing at her doorway.

"Hey, come in" she stepped aside as Freddie made his way in.

"Hey Noah!" Freddie greeted and then turned to Carly who was closing the door "Carls, I need your help…"

"Is your Mom trying to talk to you about the Birds and the Bees again?" Carly went to the kitchen to continue eating.

"No! Well, not right now at least…I just…" Freddie followed at sat with Carly and Noah.

"Spill…"

"I want to get Sam something for Christmas."

"Freddie, you never had trouble with this before. You usually just buy her as many Fat Cakes as possible and then she's happy…"

"See, that's the thing. I want the present to be more personal. More…I don't know…loving, perhaps?" Freddie sighed.

"I don't know. What do you think Freddie should get Sam, Noah?"

"A car!" Noah giggled. Carly looked laughed at bit and then looked at Freddie "There you go…"

"I was thinking of telling her that I love her…"

Carly all of a sudden froze putting her spoon down "You're kidding right?"

"I'm not kidding. It's a more meaning full gift than just getting her Fat Cakes every Christmas."

"Well, that's okay. Sam loves Fat Cakes. She lives for Fat Cakes. But you telling her that you love her? I don't know how well she'll take it. Do you know what happened to the last person to tell her that they loved her?"

"What happened?"

"She punched them in the mouth."

"But I'm her boyfriend."

"Do you know who she punched in the mouth?"

"Who?"

"Her Mom…"

Freddie stood up and panicked "Carly, what do I do? You have to help me come up with a more creative present than just Fat Cakes. And I most certainly do NOT want to be punched in the mouth…"

"Relax, Freddie. I'm pretty sure you can come up with something. Just as long as its food related and involves hurting Gibby."

"You're right. I just have to think like Sam." Freddie took a deep breath and sat down. He watched as Carly and Noah were eating their breakfast. The scent of the hot cinnamon oatmeal caught his nose "Hey, can I have some oatmeal?"

"See, you're already thinking like her already…" Carly said as she got up and went to fix Freddie a bowl of oatmeal.


	2. Carly's boyfriend, Freddie's girlfriend

**Chapter 2: Carly's boyfriend, Freddie's girlfriend.**

Carly came downstairs dressed for school when she found Spencer sitting on the couch in complete silence "Hey" she said coming towards him. He was looking at a small squared jewelry box that was on the table "Is that Mom's wedding ring?" Carly asked.

"Yeah." Spencer replied sighing "I don't know kiddo, should I? Does the time seem right?"

"You guys have been together for five years. Broke up twice. I think the question is why haven't you guys gotten married yet?" Carly sat down beside him.

"I just want to make sure she's ready."

"I'm pretty sure she is. She's so happy when she's with you and Noah. Like incredibly happy. It couldn't hurt to take a chance."

"You're right. I was planning to do it on Christmas Eve. Too cheesy?"

"A little bit." Carly smiled "I'm kidding. Well, maybe."

Spencer laughed a bit and stood up as Carly followed "Alright, lets get you to school. You go meet me in the car. I have to get Noah." The two parted ways and Carly was going to the car.

As Spencer dropped Carly off at school, she hugged him, turned to kiss Noah on the cheek, said goodbye and went on her way. Spencer sat there for a couple of seconds watching as Carly went off with Jake. Jake Crandall. Spencer didn't quite approve of him because he had cheated on Carly once before but like a lovesick fool, Carly took him back. The last thing he wanted was for his baby sister to be heartbroken again. But Carly was her own person and he wanted her to be happy.

"Lets go, Daddy" Noah giggled in his car seat.

"Alright, little buddy" Spencer took off.

Meanwhile, Jake walked Carly to her locker and then held her in a public display of affection. "Are you coming over after school?" Carly asked holding him close.

"I can't, babe. I gotta practice with my band." Jake replied letting go.

"But I barely got to see you last week."

"I know. But you know how important my band is to me."

"More important than me?"

"Just as important." Jake sighed and looked at Carly's frowning face. He then kissed her gently on the lips.

"Hey, Jake! We're gonna be in the music room, you comin'!?" one of Jake's band members hollered.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second" he turned back to Carly "I'll call you okay?" he gave Carly one more kiss before going off with his bandmates.

Carly sighed watching Jake leave. She opened her locker getting her books out and putting some back in when Sam approached her.

"Hey Carls" Sam greeted munching on a bag of chips "Saw you mackin' on the boyfriend."

"I wasn't _mackin' _, Sam"

"Well, you kissed him. Its still considered mackin'."

Carly closed her locker "Where's Freddie?"

"The nubs' at an AV club meeting. I didn't wanna stick around for one of those." Sam finished her chips and threw the bag into the trash.

"You know, it amuses me the way you can act so tough with everyone else but when its just you and Freddie, you act…girly."

"Okay, you're my best friend but if you remind me about that one more time I will break your legs."

Carly just laughed at Sam's ever present tough girl act. The girls stood around for awhile as Freddie came out of the AV room. "Hey Carly" he greeted and then went to Sam to kiss her on the cheek "Hey".

Sam smiled and then wiped Freddie's lip residue off from her cheek. Freddie shrugged watching her do that because, hey, she was Sam.

"Well, I'm gonna get to class. Don't want Mr. Paladino making me first to read my book report again. Later, guys" Sam went off.

Freddie and Carly walked to their honors English class together. Freddie pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Carly.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's a list of gift ideas for Sam"

"Uh, let's see…" Carly read over the piece of paper "Pantyhose, a notebook, flowers, a cookbook?" she looked at Freddie "You know that Sam wouldn't know what to do with either of these right? And…pantyhose?"

"Hey! It's the thought that counts, alright?" Freddie snatched the paper from her hands "My list sucks. I know."

"It doesn't suck…its…kinda…um, wow, you really don't know much about Sam."

"I do…I just…I just wish she could show me the side of her that she shows when we're alone. It could be nice if she was like that all the time. I still have to ask if she wants to go to the winter dance. Sometimes Sam doesn't wanna do things in public that involve me. You're lucky Jake wants to kiss you and walk with you in public."

Carly thought about Jake and how he ditched her to be with his band earlier today. She wasn't _that _lucky "Yeah, Freddie, I'm the luckiest girl on earth…" she said sarcastically.

After school, Freddie and Sam made out under the bleachers. He pulled away from her for a second to come up for air.

"So we're going to the winter dance, right?" Freddie asked.

"I don't know…I kinda wanna stay home." Sam replied nonchalantly

"Why? Home is borring. Dances are fun."

"Dancing around and dressing up? Please…I could do that in my own house." Sam watched as Freddie pouted a bit. She sighed and then looked at her shoes "Alright, I suppose we can go."

Freddie smiled as he turned to kiss her again.

Later that evening, Carly and Jake came to an agreement and he was coming over to have dinner at the loft. Spencer made spaghetti tacos as Carly played with Noah on the couch.

"Carly, I still don't know why you continue to see this guy." Spencer said while he fixed the plates with food.

"Do I ever question you about why you continue to date Leah?" Carly smartly replied.

"Well, that's different. You have no problem with Leah. Whereas I have to keep watching out for you. I mean the guy cheated on you once. What makes you think he won't do it again?"

"Because he's sweet." Carly smiled thinking about Jake's chiseled good looks "But moving on, what kind of music is this?" Carly raised an eyebrow over the Christmas music playing over their stereo.

"It's the Girly Cow Christmas album. Noah loves it."

"Yeah well, I think we should bring the coolness up a notch" Carly got up to the stereo to put on her Drake Parker Christmas CD. Just as she did so, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Noah got up off the couch and ran towards the door as Carly followed behind and opened the door.

"Hey, babe" Jake smiled.

"Hey" Carly's knees went weak "Come on in"

Jake stepped inside as Carly closed the door. He bent down and looked at Noah "Hey Noah, you remember me?"

Noah shook his head. Carly laughed a bit "Uh, Noah, this is auntie Carly's boyfriend Jake."

Noah didn't say anything but ran into the kitchen. Jake stood up and looked at Carly "Well, I guess he has short term memory, heh."

"Dinner's ready!" Spencer called as he set the table.

Jake and Carly walked towards the kitchen. "Um, you remember my brother Spencer, right?"

"Of course I do…Hey, man" Jake held his hand out.

"Hey" Spencer shook his hand and then went to get the rest of the Spaghetti. Jake sat down as Carly got Noah into his high chair and then got herself seated. Spencer was the last to sit down.

Dinner was…a tad awkward. Carly tried to show Spencer that Jake really had changed since the last time he saw him. Towards the end of the night, Carly got a phone call from Sam so she excused herself from the table and went to the studio.

Spencer, Jake, and Noah were left alone at the table. Jake bit his lip and looked around the loft "So you still do sculptures?" he asked awkwardly.

"Yup" Spencer replied flatly.

After a few more seconds of silence Jake looked at Spencer "Look man, I can tell you don't like me after I cheated on her. I can just tell."

"Well, aren't you a smart boy, Crandall."

"I just want to let you know that I'm a changed guy. I'm not gonna cheat on her again. I love Carly. And…you can't tell her what to do. You're just her brother. Not her Dad."

The last comment made Spencer's blood boil. He was more than just Carly's brother. He was her guardian and protector. And for Jakey Wakey Crandall to dictate who he was to her? Well, that was just wrong.

"Hey, I'm back" Carly came downstairs to find the boys still sitting at the table. Jake got up from his seat "Thanks for dinner, babe. I gotta get going." He went to Carly and kissed her "We're still going to the winter dance, right?"

"Of course" Carly walked him towards the door "Goodnight. Love you!" she gave him one more kiss and off he went. Carly was all smiles and giggles as she turned back to Spencer "Isn't he great? I told you he was great!"

Spencer sighed "He's a charmer, Carls…a real charmer…".

**(chapter 3 coming soon!)**


	3. Dance, Dance

**A/N**: For those of you who don't remember Mr. Howard. He was in the iGot Detention episode. Enjoy!

**Chapter 3: Dance, Dance**

About an hour before the dance, Carly and Freddie were helping Spencer put up the magnetic Christmas tree that made an appearance every year during Christmas at the Shay loft. After they got it out of the storage room, Noah joined in putting ornaments on the tree. A few minutes later, they were done with the tree and there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Carly made her way towards the door and opened it "Granddad!" she beamed seeing the older man in the doorway.

"Carly!" Granddad hugged her and then made his way inside.

"Granddad!!" little Noah ran into his arms.

"Oh, hello!" Granddad picked Noah up "You're a big boy now! How old are you? Twenty one?"

"I'm five!"

"Hey Granddad, thanks for watching Noah. I gotta chaperone the dance tonight" Spencer said.

"No problem. You and Carly go out and have some fun!"

"Great! Now I gotta go put on my socks!" Spencer ran into his room.

"How about we go make a sandwich?" Granddad suggested taking Noah into the kitchen. Carly and Freddie stood in the living room. "So…" Carly began "You figure out what to get Sam yet?"

"Nope. I'm gonna talk to her tonight. Kind of get a clue out of what she wants for Christmas."

"I wonder what she's getting you. She's never really gotten you anything before."

"Yeah, I know. But honestly, all I want from her is to act like she's my girlfriend. She's only nice to me when we're alone but out in public she likes to act like the way we were before we were going out. I mean, it's not a secret. Everyone knows we're going out."

"And some of us are still in shock by that" Carly picked up a brush and ran it through her hair "But anyways, I think it's really sweet that you don't want anything material from her."

"Yeah, well, besides…it's not like she can afford to buy me anything."

Seconds later, Mrs. Benson came through the door with a brush "Freddie, let me fluff your hair one more time before the dance!"

"Mom, I think that's enough!" Freddie tried to fight her off.

"Hold still!" she tried to get the brush on his head.

"Enough! I'm in high school I don't need hair fluffing!" Freddie ran out of the apartment as Mrs. Benson followed behind.

"Hey, what's all the excitement all about?" Spencer came back out with his shoes and socks on.

"Mrs. Benson was trying to fluff Freddie's hair." Carly replied laughing.

"What? Does he still get tick baths?"

"Sadly, yes"

"What a weirdo" Spencer grabbed his keys from the coffee table "Alright, we have to get a move on."

Granddad walked up to Spencer and Carly with Noah in tow "Say bye Noah"

"Bye Daddy" Noah said giving Spencer a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye little buddy. You obey Granddad's rules and Mommy will be calling to check in with you." Spencer smiled.

"Bye, Noah!" Carly kissed the little boy on the head. The siblings bid their Granddad goodbye and then went on their way to the school for the winter dance.

At the dance, Sam waited for Freddie by the snack table. She stuffed her face and watched the other kids pass by her.

"Hey Puckett" a random male student said "Nice dress"

"Are you gonna get out of here or do you want your face pushed into the back of your head?" she spat.

"I'm leaving!" the student scurried away.

Finally, Freddie arrived. Mrs. Benson went off into the chaperones area as Freddie made his way towards Sam. When he got there, he kissed her cheek and grabbed her hand "Come on, lets dance"

"Can't you see I'm eating a sandwich, Benson?" Sam let go of his hand.

Freddie looked at her for a moment and then sighed. He sat next to her waiting for her to finish the food.

Minutes after Freddie and Mrs. Benson arrived, Carly and Spencer came into the gym. Carly looked around to find Jake "He's probably still practicing with his band for tonight's performance" Carly checked her phone nervously.

"You want me to stay around till you find him?" Spencer asked.

"No. I'm okay. I'll just stick with Freddie and Sam till he gets here." Carly went off to see Freddie and Sam as Spencer made his way to the chaperone area. The area consisted of Mrs. Benson, Miss Briggs, Principal Franklin, Mr. Paladino, and Mr. Howard. Spencer awkwardly took a seat with the group that made him feel just about as young as the kids dancing around in the building.

"Well, hello Spencer. How are you?" Miss Briggs greeted.

"I'm just da-" Spencer almost replied but was immediately cut off by her standing up and using her megaphone.

"GIBBY!" she yelled "YOU PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!" she marched over to the dance floor. After that the other chaperones started yelling at all the other kids around. Spencer sighed. It was going to be a long night.

"Hey!" Carly cheerfully walked up to her friends "You guys having fun?"

"Meh" Sam muttered "The foods pretty good."

Carly turned her attention towards Freddie who looked a little lonely "Why aren't you and Sam dancing?"

"All she wants to do is eat." Freddie replied.

"Uh, hello? You're the guy in the relationship you're supposed to lay down the law and demand to dance with her."

"Hey Carls, Jake just came through the door" Sam reminded her.

Carly turned around and left her friends to run into her boyfriend's arms "Hey!" she kissed him "You didn't call me to tell me you're here."

"I tried to! I didn't have service!" Jake yelled over the music.

"Oh. Okay. You wanna dance?!"

"A little later, babe! We have to set up and do a soundcheck!"

Carly pouted like a puppy "But I thought you already did that?"

"Nah, Adam wanted to get some tacos before we got here. I'll see you in a bit, kay?" Jake kissed her forehead and then moved passed her carrying his guitar and his band mates following behind him. Feeling rebuffed, Carly just sighed and returned back to an equally miserable Freddie and a food crazy Sam.

Meanwhile, Spencer sat around with the chaperones bored out of his mind. He was nothing like the people around him. He didn't feel like yelling at kids and destroying their fun. Seconds later, his phone vibrated and he took it out of his pocket to see what it was. He flipped open the phone and it was a text message:

_Message from Leah:  
__I miss you! 3 *sadface*_

The text message made him smile and a little sad. Why did she have to be out of town on the holidays? Did her boss not understand that she has a family to be with? He just sighed hoping that she _would _be back home for Christmas Eve.

"Spencer!" bursting his thought bubble, Mrs. Benson came over and sat beside him handing him a cup of punch "Are you having fun?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Benson" he took the cup "I'm uh…trying to."

"How's Leah? Poor girl has to work during the holidays."

"She's fine. You know her. She's very motivated."

"Well why shouldn't she be when she has a fine, talk, dark, handsome, strapping lad by her side…" Mrs. Benson was looking over his shoulder lovingly at the person behind him. Spencer gave her a perplexed stare

"Uh…are you talking about me?"

"Oops, I'm sorry. Where were we?" she turned back to Spencer blushing.

Spencer turned to see who her eyes were scoping out and then raised an eyebrow. "No, no, no Mrs. Benson. Sounds like you have a crush."

Mrs. Benson sighed "You're right. I do. It's Mr. Howard! He's so powerful, charming, and so…_sexy_"

Spencer turned around once more to see Mr. Howard yelling at a couple and telling them to keep their hands off of each other. "Uh…yes. Yes, he is. Um, why don't you go build up the nerve to go up to him and ask for a dance, yeah?!"

"You think so? You think he'll dance with me?"

"Of course he will." Spencer stood up "Well, I have to go to the bathroom. Go ahead and ask him!" he gave her a thumbs up and then left the gym in search for the bathroom. He walked down the hallway for a few seconds and found the bathroom was just around the corner. As he was nearing his destination, he stopped for a second as he heard voices coming from that corner.

"I can't wait to see you perform" a female voice said followed by a flirty little giggle.

"Well I can't wait for you to see it" a male voice replied.

Carly and Jake, Spencer thought. And he didn't care that he was about to bust up their little tryst, he really had to go pee. He took one step forward just about to turn the corner when what he saw stunned him. It wasn't Carly and Jake. It was Jake and someone else! He was just about to kiss this other girl as Spencer took a step back and backed himself up against the wall. He _knew _Jake was putting up some sort of front. And poor Carly…Spencer did not want to see her heartbroken a second time.

Forget peeing, Spencer marched back into the gym and on his way there, he met Freddie half way "Freddo! We need to talk" he grabbed the boy to the side of the entrance.

"Dude, not now I have to go pee" Freddie tried to escape.

"It can wait. I just…I just saw Jake making out with another girl." Spencer blurted out

"Whoa, you should go tell Carly."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I plan on doing. But we have to do-"

"What do you mean by _we_?"

"I need your help, Freddie. I need someone to back me up cuz if I told her by myself she's gonna think I made that up just to break her and Jake up. I can't see her heartbroken again."

Freddie looked into Spencer's pleading eyes "Good luck telling her, man" he moved past Spencer to get to the bathroom.

Frustrated, Spencer went back into the gym and sat with all the other chaperones. He saw Carly near the snacks table beaming of happiness as she talked to Sam. She was probably excited to see Jake perform and afterwards, looking forward to a night of dancing with him. That was it. He needed to expose Jake for the cheating liar he was.

When Freddie came out of the bathroom he went back to Sam and Carly who were now sitting on the bleachers. "Hey girls" he said "So, you ready to dance?" he looked at Sam charmingly.

"I'm not dancing with you when you have toilet paper stuck to your shoes" Sam pointed to his feet and laughed along with Carly.

Freddie looked down to see the foot long trail of toilet paper hanging from the side of his shoe.

"Hey look!" Sam stood up "Benson's got toilet paper on his shoe!"

Kids turned to see Freddie in all his mortified glory and took pictures. "ARRRGGHH!" Freddie shouted as he ripped the toilet paper from his shoe and sat down furiously.

"Seriously, that's the longest piece of toilet paper I've seen stuck to someone's shoe" someone said as they passed Freddie.

"Ladies and gentleman" the emcee came to the stage "Jake Crandall and the Sparks will now take the stage!"

Carly stood up and made her way towards the front to see Jake and his guys walk out from the side of the stage proudly holding their instruments. Jake smiled at Carly and winked

"This one's for you, Carly. I love you, babe" he flashed his smile and began to play and sing.

The song dedication made Spencer furious. How could Jake just dedicate a song to Carly when he was just with another girl a few moments ago? He had to do something. Spencer stood up and walked towards the stage entrance. He walked up the steps and got on the stage. Carly was proudly watching Jake when she saw Spencer appear on stage. She was confused.

"Spencer?"

Spencer went towards Jake and snatched his mic from the stand. Jake stopped singing and looked at him strangely "Dude, what the hell are you doing?"

"Carly, he's lying to you!" Spencer spoke into the mic "He's cheating on you again!"

Carly's jaw dropped. Not because of what Spencer had said but his actions "SPENCER! PLEASE GET DOWN NOW!" she yelled embarrassed.

"No! I'm not getting down till he admits what a lousy boyfriend he's been!"

Not even bothering to listen to what he had to say, Carly ran out of the gym in tears. Jake left the stage to chase after her. Spencer looked at the audience in front of him ashamed and mortified. What a stupid move. This kind of confrontation was supposed to be done in private. "Could you please put the music back on" Spencer spoke into the mic "Uh…enjoy the dance, kids!" he stepped off the stage to find Carly.

The DJ put the music back on and everyone continued to dance. Sam turned to Freddie to laugh "Oh my god, how embarrassing was that?" she laughed and laughed until she noticed Freddie still in a slump.

"Hey, why aren't you laughing?"

"Leave me alone, Sam" Freddie muttered and turned to the other side.

"God, Freddie are you still mad at the whole toilet paper thing? Get over it! Spencer just went on stage and took all the attention so can you get over it now?"

"No, that's not why I'm mad. You wanna know why I'm mad? This whole night I've been wanting to dance with you! You never want to act like my girlfriend! You just pick on me and make me feel bad most of the time! You know, I wanted to take this time to figure out what you wanted for Christmas but I guess that'll never happen anymore! If you wanna keep acting like an asshole then that's just fine by me!" Freddie walked out of the gym leaving Sam in the dust.

She watched Freddie leave and then sighed. He really was mad this time. Sam knew her attitude had to be adjusted and she really had to start acting like a girlfriend now.

**(chapter 4 coming soon!)**


	4. A Holly Jolly Christmas?

**Chapter 4: A Holly Jolly Christmas?**

Carly gave Spencer the silent treatment on the ride home from the dance. Never had she been more embarrassed in her whole life. Like who else's older brother would get up on a stage and call out her boyfriend? As they got back to the loft. Carly furiously opened the door with Spencer following behind her closing the door.

"Hey kids, how was the dance?" Granddad casually asked sitting on the couch watching some TV.

"Spencer ruined everything!" Carly spat "He ruined my relationship and my life!"

"I was not trying to ruin anything for you! I was trying to look out for you! He's cheating on you again, Carls!" Spencer fought back.

"Oh, you're just saying that because you don't like Jake! You're just sad that Leah's not here and you want to make everyone sad with you!"

Spencer was taken aback by Carly's statement. It was absolutely untrue. And bringing up how much he missed Leah? It wasn't fair. It unleashed a fury of words from the siblings. Yelling back and forth with each other, it was something everyone who knew Carly and Spencer could witness and tell that they were not perfect. The still argued like brothers and sisters would eventually do.

Granddad watched as his two grandchildren were about to verbally rip each other's heads off, he decided to step in and play referee "Hey" he said. The arguing didn't stop. "Hey!" he said once more. Nope, the bickering still lived on.

"HEY!" he raised his voice causing Carly and Spencer to stop and look at him. "Will you two calm down? I already got Noah to sleep and here come the two of you yelling and screaming like it's a gosh darn parade! Now, if you could each just sit down. Tell me each side of the story and maybe we could settle this more quietly?"

Carly glared at Spencer "I'm going to my room" she said as she left the living room and trailed up the stairs.

"Carly Anne Shay, you get back down here!" Spencer yelled but only heard the door slam. He then sighed and sat down next to Granddad.

"What am I doing wrong?" he asked "I'm only trying to protect her from getting her heart broken again. I knew guys like Jake in high school. I don't want my little sister to ever be a victim of jerks like him."

"She's a teenage girl, Spence. She wants to think that everything she's doing is right. Even if it isn't." Granddad replied.

"How was your night with Noah? Thanks for watching him. I hope he wasn't a handful"

"It was fine. I couldn't get the kid to sleep till Leah called. She sang 'You are my sunshine' to him and that's what knocked him out"

"Yeah, it calms him down. Doesn't like it when I sing it, though." Spencer stood up "Well, I'm gonna get to bed. Hopefully, we can come to an understanding tomorrow. Night, Granddad. You need some extra blankets? Pillows?"

"I'm fine. You have a good night."

And with that, Spencer headed towards his room still thinking about Carly. She had to understand. She just had to.

On Monday, it was the beginning of Christmas break. The kids had no school till the end of the year. Sam headed on over to Carly's place and knocked on the door.

"Hey" Carly said answering the door.

"You ready to go shopping?" Sam asked. Both of the girls were feeling quite down.

"Yeah, lemme get my purse" Carly turned and went towards the couch where she snatched her purse from the arm rest. As she was leaving, Spencer came out from his room "Hey kiddo, you going somewhere?" he asked trying to start conversation with her.

"I'm going to the mall with Sam. Is that okay or are you going to go on a stage and tell me I can't?"

Spencer sighed. She wasn't going to let Spencer forget about that "Carls, its fine. You can go. You need a ride?"

"No." she replied and bolted out the door.

The girls walked out of the building and out where Sam's Mom was waiting for them. They got into the car and were dropped off at the mall. "So how are you and Freddie?" Carly asked as they were at Glitter Gloss.

"Uh…not so good" Sam replied looking at a t-shirt with pink skulls all over it.

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, at the dance, after that thing with you, Spencer, and Jake…I tried to dance with him but the nub started yelling at me."

"Well, what did he say?"

"He started going off on how I'm not a very good girlfriend and that I should be acting like one and blah, blah, blah…"

"Sam, you know he's only saying that because he loves you right?"

"I know. But ugh…I didn't even know being a good girlfriend required work. I thought all you had to do was just stand there with him so that people know you're a couple…"

"Maybe you should talk to him. Tell him you're sorry."

Hours later, the girls came back to the Bushwell. Carly and Sam stood at Carly's doorway when Sam turned and looked at Freddie's door. "Why don't you go talk to him now?" Carly suggested as she was opening her door.

"Do I have to?"

"Just do it" Carly got the door open and went inside. As Carly's door closed, Sam stood out there still looking at Freddie's door contemplating on what to say to him. She took a deep breath and then knocked on his door.

"Oh, hi Sam." Marissa Benson greeted as she opened the door.

"Hey Mrs. Benson, is Freddie home?" She asked nervously.

"No, he went out with some friends."

"Oh." Sam was surprised "Well, okay. Could you tell him I dropped by?"

"Sure." Mrs. Benson smiled.

"Marissa! Get back here, kitten!" a voice called.

Out of Sam's numerous visits to detention, she pretty much knew who that voice was "Is that Mr. Howard in there?" she asked.

"Um…yes. We were just having a little meeting. Alright, good bye" she closed the door.

Sam turned around and scuffed her foot on the floor. _Some friends_? What did that mean? Knowing Freddie, his only friends were her, Carly, Gibby, and three AV geeks. If he had more friends, how come Sam didn't know? Or maybe "some friends" could mean…a new girlfriend? Sam knocked on Carly's door.

"Sam?" Carly answered the door and found Sam on the verge of tears.

"He's out with someone else…" Sam broke down in Carly's arms "I should have been a better girlfriend like he wanted me to be" she sobbed.

"Aww, Sam. Is that exactly what happened?"

"Well, Mrs. Benson told me that he was out with some friends…and Freddie doesn't have much friends. That could mean he's out with someone else!"

"I'm sure you could be thinking ahead of yourself."

"No! He doesn't want me anymore…"

This was the second time Carly had seen Sam so vulnerable. A couple of hours after Sam left, Carly opened her door to find Freddie coming in to his place "Hey Freddie" she said.

"Hey Carls" Freddie replied nonchalantly

"So…where did you go today?"

"Uh…I was out with friends"

"Friends, huh? Are you sure it wasn't just a friend? A female friend?"

"Did Sam put you up to something?"

"Sam wanted to talk to you earlier. But your Mom told her that you were out with some friends. She was crying cause she thinks that you're going out with someone else."

"Hah, so my plan worked."

"Plan?" Carly gave him a perplexed stare "So you were planning to make Sam cry? Where were you then?"

"I was at the Groovy Smoothie with Gibby and Rueben."

"So wait a minute, so you planned to make Sam think you're with someone else?"

"Yeah. It'll show her that she really loves me and that she'll start acting the way she's supposed to be. But don't tell her, though."

"I won't. It's a little mean. But I won't." Carly went back inside her place and sat on the couch when Spencer and Noah came up the elevator back from grocery shopping.

"Hey kiddo, you mind giving me a hand with these bags?" he asked as Noah came running towards the couch to sit down. Carly didn't move. She just sat there staring at the TV.

Spencer sighed. "Carly, I know you're not talking to me but could you please give me a hand with the groceries? You eat this food, too…"

"Ugh" Carly got up and grabbed one of the bags from Spencer's arms and went towards the kitchen. She settled the bag on the table and then we back to the living room. Disappointed, Spencer went to her and turned off the TV.

"Hey! We were watching that!" Carly said.

"You can watch when you're done helping me put the stuff away."

"I helped you take in the groceries. Isn't that enough?"

"Carly, I don't normally punish you but I think its time I should. I want you to go to your room."

"That's not fair! You're the one who embarrassed me! I should be punishing you! I hate you!"

Spencer's jaw dropped "Carly, you don't mean that…"

"I'm out of here. I'm going to stay with Sam" Carly got up and left the loft.

Spencer sighed again. He had been sighing a lot lately since Carly was still mad at him. He could take her holding a grudge against him but leaving? When Carly slammed the door, he felt as if a piece of his heart had fell out of him.

"Where did Auntie Carly go, Daddy?" Noah asked oblivious to the problem.

"She wants to be alone right now" Spencer replied as he sat next to his son.

**(Chapter 4 coming soon)**


	5. Santa, Bring My Baby Back to Me

**A/N:** Last chapter, people! Thank you so much for reading! Enjoy it!!

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**Chapter 5: Santa, Bring My Baby Back to Me**

**December 23rd**

Carly and Sam sat in Sam's living room watching TV when Sam's Mom came out of her room "Hey girls, I'm going to work. If you want anything to eat I think there's some TV dinners in the freezer. Bye!"

As soon as Mrs. Puckett was gone, Sam got up from the couch and looked in the freezer to find ice and some kind of ground beef. "Well, there goes dinner." She sighed "My Mom's boyfriend must have ate all the TV dinners." She went back to sit on the couch with Carly "We could always-Oh never mind."

"I am not going back home. Spencer is on a total power trip right now." Carly replied.

"Yeah, and you live across from that jerk Freddie." Sam angrily flipped through the channels.

Carly snickered a little as she remembered what Freddie had told her. Sam looked at her and wondered what she was laughing at "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing" Carly bit back a laugh.

Sam looked at her suspiciously and then shrugged when Seattle Beat came on the TV screen.

Back at the Shay loft, Spencer had been working on a robot Santa sculpture while Noah helped painted when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Spencer answered.

"Hey babe!" it was Leah and as soon as he heard her voice, a smile formed

"Hey babe! How are ya?" he put down his sculpting tools, grabbed Noah and sat on the couch.

"I've been so busy. I've been wearing heels non stop my feet are killing me! How's everyone? How's Noah?"

"He's great. You wanna talk to him?" Spencer handed the phone to Noah.

"Hi Mommy!!!" Noah smiled "We're building a Santa Claus!...yes, Mommy…"

Spencer watched as Noah talked to Leah on the phone. The way his face lit up, the way he laughed. It reminded him of the way Carly used to be when she was little.

"Daddy" Noah tugged on Spencer's shirt "I think Mommy wants to talk to you"

Spencer took the phone "So are you coming home tomorrow? We miss you…"

Leah sighed "About that, Spence…I called to say that I won't make it back on time."

"What?!" Spencer stood up "Please tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was, babe. I couldn't get a plane to Seattle. They're all booked. And my boss wants me to go to a few of the fashion show Christmas parties…he says its good press for the magazine."

Spencer sighed as he frowned "I guess you need to do what you need to do, right?"

"I'll be back after Christmas. We can still spend New Years together. I'm totally hating this too, babe." Leah tried to cheer him up.

"I understand"

"I love you okay?"

"Love you" Spencer then looked at Noah and handed him the phone "Come say bye to your Mom, buddy"

"Bye Mommy I love you!" Noah spoke into the phone. He handed the phone back to Spencer and he hung it up and sat back down on the couch. Great. Carly was still mad at him and Leah wasn't going to be back home for the holidays. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box looking at it. Earlier, he had looked at this ring with so much hope, enthusiasm, and excitement. Second time looking at the ring; he was feeling the sting of second thoughts in his stomach.

Later on in the evening, Carly and Sam decided to go to the movies. The girls just got off the bus to find the Cineplex loaded with lines of people. About ten minutes later, the girls got their tickets for _Dude, Where's My Sister? _and headed into the movie theater and got seated.

"I'm gonna go get some popcorn" Sam said getting up. She then paused and then turned back to Carly "Can I borrow ten bucks?"

Carly rolled her eyes and sighed taking twenty dollars out of her wallet "Here. You better be getting me some snacks, too."

"Thanks!" Sam took the money and then left to go to the lobby.

Carly quietly sat down as people were coming into the theater. She looked up at the screen to find one of those silly movie quizzes that played before the movie started. Then her eyes wandered around the theater. She saw a brunette haired boy enter the theater with a girl whom she thought was Freddie. Getting a grip, she took a double take and it _was _Freddie! Her jaw dropped as she marched over to where they were sitting.

"Freddie…" she said.

"Oh hey Carly" Freddie quickly said. He then realized who it was and then turned again "Carly?!"

She pulled him aside "I thought you weren't really seeing anyone else? I thought you were trying to get back at Sam?"

"I am! I mean, I'm not seeing anyone else! She's just a friend. And I really mean it."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure. I love Sam…I would never cheat on her…"

After seeing the honesty in his eyes, Carly looked towards the entrance and then looked back at Freddie "Alright well, you better hide yourself because I'm here with Sam and she went to go get some snacks…she could be back any minute so go!" Carly and Freddie quickly went back to their seats.

Meanwhile, Sam crossed her arms and waited in the dreaded concession stand line. She had been in line for about fifteen minutes already and wondered what the hold up was. She looked to the side and at the front of the line was a man who was indecisive about what he wanted to eat.

"HEY!" Sam yelled. She was the third person close from the counter "HOW HARD IS IT TO ORDER A BUCKET OF POPCORN AND A SODA? YOU'RE HOLDING UP THE LINE, IDIOT!" She was applauded by the people in line and the indecisive man shot her a glare and quickly ordered a hot dog and a soda. The line moved up a little bit more but now she had to wait for one more person to get their food. As she waited, she felt an elbow press against her back. The pressing was getting more and more annoying so she turned around

"Excuse me, I-"Sam's jaw dropped as the person who was pressing her back with their elbow was a girl, A girl that Jake Crandall had been making out with. She knew Carly would be absolutely crushed if she ever crossed his path.

"Next!" the food stand cashier called out "Hey!"

Sam quickly turned around and went forward "Sorry, um, could I get some cheater-I mean _cheddar _cheese popcorn?" she ordered nervously. Her mind had been focused on Jake and how he was on a date with someone else not knowing Carly was in the building as well.

Back at the theater room, Carly sat and waited hoping Sam wouldn't come inside and instantly spot Freddie. All of a sudden, she watched as Sam rushed through the entrance carrying arm full of snacks and walking passed Freddie.

"Hey" she said getting into her seat "Did I miss anything?"

"Not much…" Carly took the popcorn and popped some in her mouth. Chewing, she instantly spit it out "Gross! You got cheddar?"

"What? Cheese can't go on popcorn?"

"I'll go get some regular popcorn" Carly stood up but Sam instantly pulled her down in fear that she might run into Jake "No, why don't I get it for you? One more trip to the food stand can't hurt." She stood up.

"No!" Carly protested and wanting to prevent her from seeing Freddie only a couple seats down "You've been there long enough…why don't I go?"

"No, no, no!" Sam stood up already walking to the food stand. A few steps down and she was face to face with Freddie who was going to get some snacks as well.

"Freddie…" Sam froze.

"Sam…hey…"

Sam turned to see who he was sitting with and then looked back to him "So is this who you're with now?"

"She's just a friend…"

Sam didn't say anything. She just ran out of the theater room in tears. Carly walked up to Freddie "I thought I told you to hide yourself?"

"How did I know she was going to get popcorn at the same time I was?" Freddie replied "I should go to her and see if she's okay."

"No, I'll do it." Carly was on her way when she crossed paths with another familiar face "Jake?" she was confused when she saw his arm around another girl.

"Carly!" Jake turned around ashamed and in trouble "Baby, what are you doing here?"

"Who's she? And why did you just call her 'baby'?" the girl smugly asked.

"I used to be his girlfriend…" Carly answered.

"Used to? Carls, I still love you. Your brother is the one trying to pull us apart! He made me go out with this girl!" Jake lied.

"I'm not stupid, okay?" without warning, Jake was met with a slap to the face. Carly shook her head in disgust "We're through, you jerk!" she then proceeded to come to Sam's aid.

**December 24th**

In the morning, Spencer woke up and carried Noah into the kitchen for breakfast. He sat the little boy down in his high chair and got some ingredients out of the cabinets "What do you want for breakfast, little guy?" he asked.

"Daddy, I miss Mommy. When is she coming home?" Noah wondered.

Spencer sighed and went to him "I know how you feel, buddy. I miss her, too. I miss her a lot, actually. But Mommy is very busy. Don't you worry your little head, though because Mommy will be back soon and when she does, she'll be bringing you lots and lots of toys!!"

Noah smiled a little as Spencer patted him on the head and went back to making breakfast hoping what he said would cheer him up a bit. He cracked the eggs, mixed up the pancake batter, and as he was pouring two cups of juice, there was a knock at the door

"Getting it" Spencer ran towards the door and opened it "Carly?"

Carly stood at the doorway sadly smiling at him. Without saying anything she hugged Spencer as tears filled her eyes "You were right. You were so right and I'm dumb…"

"Carls" he looked down at her "Come on, lets sit down" she let go of him as he closed the door, went to the kitchen and grabbed Noah, and settled on the couch with Carly.

"Auntie Carly!" Noah hugged her.

"Hey kid! I missed ya" she hugged back and then looked at Spencer "Spence, I'm so sorry I said I hated you…I really should have trusted you…"

"Its fine, Carls. You know, I wish I didn't overact at the dance…I really did make a fool out of the both of us…"

"I know, thanks to you I'm gonna be known as Crying Carly and her crazy brother" she joked. The two laughed and Carly sighed "Thank you, Spence. Thank you for being a great brother and for looking out for me…"

"That's what I'm supposed to do, right?" he smiled "So…how'd you find out?"

"Sam and I were at the movies…oh! She saw Freddie with another girl but that's another story. Anyways, I just happened to run into him and this other girl…and…"

"And?"

"I told him off and slapped him!" Carly smiled.

"Right on, Carly!" Spencer high fived her "But, if Granddad wonders how you broke up with Jake, tell him you broke it off gently over coffee, alright?"

"Okay" Carly laughed. Oh, it felt so good to be home.

As evening approached, Carly helped Spencer make dinner and clean up around the house. Granddad Shay arrived as it got more dark outside. He came with presents which he put under the magnetic tree. The three set up the dinner as Noah tried to open one of the presents.

"What were you doing?" Carly grabbed Noah and sat him on the couch "I wouldn't open those if I were you"

"Why?"

"Because …the boogie man likes to get kids who open their presents early."

"Auntie Carly, how come no one else's Christmas tree looks like ours?"

"Because" Carly smiled looking back at Spencer who was putting out a slightly burned Ham on the table. She then looked back at Noah "Because you have the coolest Dad on earth, that's why!"

Seconds later, the doorbell rang and Carly answered the door to find Sam standing there "Hey Carls…" she said somberly "Can I come in?"

"Sure" Carly moved aside as Sam made her way into the loft and then sat down on the couch.

"So have you talked to him yet?" Carly asked as she sat down next to her.

"He tried calling me but no…I haven't called him back. I just can't believe he would do that to me. It's a good thing I didn't punch him right there and then."

"Aww, Sam" Carly hugged her trying her hardest not to tell her the truth. Sam really deserved to hear it.

Sam pulled away from Carly as her nose started to smell something "Is that ham?"

"Help yourself…" Carly laughed because yeah, Sam was sad but her appetite never really seemed to go away. As Sam went to the table, there was a knock at the door once again. Carly opened the door and there stood Mrs. Benson holding a casserole dish and a few presents "Hi Carly, may I come in?" she said making her way inside.

"Why ask when you can just come in?" Carly closed the door.

"I brought-"

"Benson Beef Casserole…" Carly took the dish and went to the kitchen. Mrs. Benson always either brought Benson Beef Casserole or Fish Loaf. Neither one seemed appetizing.

"Looks like someone's hungry for some casserole" Mrs. Benson smiled "Where's Noah? I knitted him a sweater!"

"Mrs. Benson!" Noah ran to the older woman. Marissa Benson was always the standby babysitter whenever Spencer and Leah were both very busy. Mrs. Benson treated Noah as if he was hers. He reminded her of whom else, a young Freddie.

"Hi!" Mrs. Benson picked up Noah "Do you miss your Mommy? She has been gone for quite a long time now, huh? I knitted you a sweater!"

Sam watched as Mrs. Benson held Noah and talked to him. She then looked back at Spencer who was fixing some spaghetti tacos "Hey Spencer, are you afraid Mrs. Benson is gonna steal Noah one of these days?"

"I know, she's like too attached to him" Carly added "She's probably gonna kidnap him while Spencer and Leah are asleep." The girls laughed as Spencer sighed.

"Come on, girls. She probably misses having a little kid around the house." He replied.

"Speaking of Leah, where is she? I thought she was supposed to come home today?" Carly wondered.

"She got a little tied up at work. Plus, she can't get a plane out to Seattle."

"Aww I'm sorry Spencer….But wait, what about that thing, you know, the _thing _you were supposed to do when she comes back?" Carly was talking about proposal.

"I decided it can wait" Spencer kept his head down as he filled the taco shells with spaghetti "I get to see her after Christmas. Just in time for New Years." He tried his best not to look sad but Carly knew he was.

The was a knock at the door once again. "I'll get that" Granddad went to the door and answered it. Carly, Sam, and Spencer were just around the kitchen table talking about random subjects when Granddad spoke out

"Girls, there's a young man here to see you…"

Carly and Sam ran to the door to find Freddie standing there "Hey Carly…Sam" he greeted.

"Hey, you wanna come in? Your Mom's already here." Carly said. Sam rolled her eyes and pulled her aside "Why are you inviting him in? I mean, hello? I'm already here…"

"Sam, I think there's something Freddie would like to tell you…" Carly went to Freddie "You need to tell her. Right now."

"That's what I came here to do…" Freddie made his way inside and went to Sam "I know you hate my guts right now but can I talk to you? I've tried calling you…you never really gave me a chance to explain things."

Sam looked over Freddie's shoulder to see Carly mouthing "Talk to him". She sighed looking back at him "Oh, okay…" she followed him out of the loft and into the hallway where they would be able to talk in private.

"Okay, so I know you saw me with that girl the last night and…she's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend…"

Sam rolled her eyes "Yeah, believable excuse, Benson"

"Its true Sam, you can ask Carly. She's just a friend."

"Well, I went to talk to you after the dance and your Mom told me you were out with some friends. Was she who you were with?"

"Um, no." Freddie swallowed hard knowing that what he was about to say would cause him a great amount of pain "Well, you see, I was only making that up just to see if you would get jealous. I was really with Gibby and Rueben…"

Sam was staring back at him with her eyes wide "You what?"

"You don't understand, I had to do that! I wanted to see if you really cared about me…"

Sam breathed hard "Benson, I'm gonna…" she tried threaten him "I'm gonna…" she raised her fist ready to punch him "Oh, you just wait, I'm gonna…"

Freddie tightly closed his eyes getting himself ready for what was going to come next.

But it didn't happen. "Ugh" Sam grunted as she put her fist down and went back to Carly's. Freddie opened his eyes confused. Why did Sam back down?

**December 25th**

Christmas morning, little Noah was the first one awake. He came out of his room and made his way downstairs. He went to Spencer's room and jumped up and down on the bed "Daddy, Daddy wake up!!" he chanted "Its Christmas!! Daddy wake up!!"

"Choo choo flooo" Spencer was still asleep.

Noah continued to jump up and down as Carly came into the room "Hey kid, I thought I'd find you in here."

"Auntie Carly, make Daddy wake up!!"

Carly went to the foot of the bed where Spencer's feet were sticking out of the blanket. She grabbed his toes and twisted them.

"GAH!" Spencer popped up to see Carly and Noah "Oh, hey kids…"

"Daddy, you have to wake up!" Noah said.

"You're right I have to wake up! If I don't the boogie man will get all the presents!" Spencer held Noah as he got up from the bed and carried him into the living room as Carly followed behind. Sam was just waking up on the couch as Granddad was coming downstairs. They all gathered into the living room to open presents.

"Alright, since Mr. Sneaky Snake was the first one up this morning, I think he gets to open up the first present." Spencer took a box from under the tree and handed it to Noah.

"Open it. It's from your Dad and me" Carly smiled.

Noah tore the box open to find a remote control fire truck. His eyes lit up "Wow, thank you Daddy! Thank you Auntie Carly!" he hopped off the couch to play with the toy.

"It was an ordinary fire truck when we bought it but I fixed it up to light up and make sounds." Spencer watched as Noah played with the car "Here, buddy, lets turn on the siren." He pressed the button on the remote control and the siren was just not any kind of siren from a toy car. It had the power of a real siren and blared throughout the loft and made everyone cover their ears.

"TURN IT OFF!" Carly yelled.

"OKAY!!" Spencer yelled back as he switched it off. "Pretty cool, huh?"

After Noah opened the first gift, everyone started opening their gifts. Carly got Sam a jar of beef jerky "Aww, Carls! You shouldn't have! But I didn't get you anything…"

"I know. I just want you to enjoy the present" Carly smiled and hugged her.

Granddad got a new robe from Carly and Spencer, Carly and Spencer got gift cards to the Cheesecake Warehouse from Granddad, Noah got new pajamas from Granddad, Carly got a pair of Cuddlefish tickets from Spencer and Spencer got some new shirts from Carly.

Carly and Sam sat on the couch looking at the Cuddlefish tickets and thinking about how much fun they were going to have. Carly looked to her side to see Spencer sitting on the floor playing with Noah. She then watched as looked at their Mother's wedding ring with sadness in his eyes. He was missing Leah.

"Alright, I'm gonna start breakfast" Spencer got up "Carls, would you mind taking all the wrapping paper and junk downstairs?"

"Um, you know what? How about I make breakfast today?" Carly got up "You go take out the trash and then after that, just kick back and relax?"

"Oh, alright…" Spencer gathered all the trash in the room and shoved it into a garbage bag. He made his way downstairs passing Lewbert who was at the front desk "Hey Lewb, merry Christmas" he greeted.

"The only holiday I care about is National Doorman Day!" Lewbert spat.

"Okay…" Spencer shrugged off Lewbert's obvious hatred of today's holiday and went to the trash bins outside. He dumped the garbage bag into the bin and then walked slowly. He stopped for awhile looking up at the sky and sighing. If only Leah were here…

"SPENCER!!" a voice from down the block called out "SPENCER!!"

Spencer thought he was losing his mind. He was _really _missing Leah because he thought he heard her voice a block away calling his name.

"SPENCER!!" the voice got closer.

He wasn't thinking it, he was hearing it! He turned his head to see Leah holding on to her luggage running towards him waving. "LEAH!" he yelled back running towards her. Leah let go of her luggage and leaped into his arms. Spencer held her tightly against his body as if he never wanted to let her go and kissed her.

"I missed you so much!" Spencer said after breaking the kiss "How did you get here? I thought you were stuck in LA with more work??"

"My gosh, I took the most preposterous trip ever!" she said as she started explain "See, after I got off the phone with you, my boss told me that all the Christmas fashion parties were canceled. So then I spent an hour trying to find other ways of transportation. So the doorman at the hotel told me that I could take a bus to San Francisco and then take a train to Portland. So that's what I did. When I got to Portland, I had to wait till four in the morning to get a plane out here and here I am and I've missed you and Noah so much and…and…I need sleep…"

At the loft, Carly, Sam, Noah, and Granddad were at the table having breakfast. Carly looked at Noah who was picking at his eggs with a small plastic fork looking gloomy "Hey kid, what's wrong?" Carly asked.

"I want Mommy to be home" he mumbled.

"Aw, chin up, kid…I know that wherever your Mommy is she's thinking about you right now. And she wants you to be happy! You got a cool toy from your Dad and I and some pretty cool pajamas from Granddad!" Carly tried to cheer him up.

"Hey everyone!" Spencer came through the door bursting with excitement "Guess who's here!"

Noah turned his head to see Leah come through the door. "Noah!" she said with open arms. The little boy had his arms up in the air as Carly took him down from his booster seat. He ran into Leah's arms "Mommy!! Mommy I missed you so so so much!"

"My baby!" Leah picked him up "I missed you more than you missed me! I was so sad without you and Daddy…"

After breakfast, Leah went to Spencer's room to take a well deserved nap. Spencer and Granddad did the dishes, Noah was napping with Leah, and Carly and Sam were on the couch watching some TV "Darn, I forgot to give Freddie his gift" Carly stood up "You comin'?"

Sam stared blankly at the TV "Nah."

"By the way, what happened when you talked to him?"

"Oh…nothing. It was nothing. I'll tell you later, okay?"

Carly stared at her strangely for a second then went upstairs to get Freddie's present. As soon as Spencer was done with the dishes, he went into the bedroom to check up on Leah and Noah. He found Leah holding a sleeping Noah close as she was wide awake.

"Hey you, you're supposed to be sleeping…" he sat beside her.

"I'm trying to." She laughed a bit "I was telling Noah about my trip. Gosh, I haven't been this tired since I gave birth to him…"

"Little guy missed you a lot." Spencer smiled down at the vision of his girlfriend and his son cuddling close. Leah grabbed his hand and held it stroking his fingers softly. It made Spencer think about that ring again.

"Let's take a walk." He said.

"It's cold outside, babe. Don't you wanna stay in here where it's warm?"

"I need some fresh air. Come on, let's take a walk…"

"But Noah…"

"I don't wanna wake him. He looks so peaceful and asleep."

Leah didn't know where he was going with this. She gently got up from the bed making sure not to wake Noah as she draped him in some blankets and followed Spencer out of the room. Carly was just coming downstairs when the two went out into the living room

"Leah, thank you so much for the dress! I've never had a designer anything before!" Carly hugged her.

"You just enjoy it, girlie. It's a Donna Kabonna." Leah replied as she slipped on her peacoat. Spencer was putting on his jacket as Carly wondered where they were going.

"We're going out for a walk, kiddo. Be back in a flash." Spencer and Leah were out the door.

Once they were out of the building, Spencer held out his hand as Leah took it and the two began to walk down the nearly empty street sidewalk. Stores were closed and very few cars were out on the street. Everyone was with their families. The sky was grey and foggy and the wind was a little breezier.

"Where are we going?" Leah asked still a little confused.

"Nowhere in particular, we're just walking." Spencer replied. There was a silence between the two as Leah was observing every building they passed.

"So how do you feel about the past five years?" Spencer asked.

"Well" Leah began feeling caught off guard "We've had our ups and downs but I'm the happiest ever. I have you, and Noah and I just adore your sister…"

"Would you by any chance want to marry me?" he pulled the ring out from his pocket and held it out "I know I tried to give you this before but now I think we're both ready…"

Leah froze. Spencer was two steps ahead when she realized that he was proposing to her. He tried to hide the smirk as he went to her. "Leah?"

She stayed silent and was still in shock. Spencer waited for what seemed like forever for a response. Leah wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her. Spencer held on to her tightly like he did earlier today.

"Yes…" she whispered into his ear.

"YES!!" Spencer pulled away from her and was doing cartwheels. Leah laughed as tears filled her eyes. He was full of so much energy. "I WIN!! I WIN!!" he started cheering with his fist in the air. "Wait, you did say 'yes' right?" he looked back at Leah.

Leah nodded her head as she went to him and kissed him. The two headed back to the loft to tell everybody.

Meanwhile, Carly knocked on Freddie's door. When the door opened, Freddie was wearing an apron that read "CUTE COOK"

"Hey Freddie…what up with the stupid apron?" Carly asked.

"It's not stupid; my Grandmother gave this to me." Freddie took the apron off and tucked it into his back pocket.

"Anyways, here" Carly shoved a box into his hand "Merry Christmas, Freddie."

"Thanks, Carls." He opened it "Wow, a video watch! Cool" he hugged her briefly and then took a box that was hiding from behind his door "Here's yours"

Carly took the box and opened it up. It was the sweater she always wanted from Glitter Gloss "Oh my god, Freddie this is wonderful! Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, you better wear that thing all the time. It took a lot of willpower to walk into that store being a guy and all"

"Of course I will" Carly smiled.

"Is, uh, Sam still at your place?" Freddie asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, she is. Hey, what happened between you two last night?"

"Well, I told her the truth. Everything. I thought she was going to hit me…but…she didn't. She just walked back into your place…"

"Well, that's weird." Carly

"But, I've got her Christmas present. I just need you to tell me when its safe to come in."

"Oh my gosh, what is it!?" Carly poked her head inside Freddie's loft.

"Calm down, you'll know when I give it to her. Get outta here, though. I need to make a surprise entrance."

Carly gave him a thumbs up and then went back to her place where Sam was still watching TV "Hey" Carly sat down next to her.

"Wow, you've been gone for awhile. How long have you been talking to him for?" Sam asked.

"Oh, we were just talking about…school…boring stuff. Stuff you wouldn't be interested in…"

Sam wasn't listening. She still continued to stare at the TV blankly. Carly made sure she wasn't looking when she went to text Freddie. A minute later, there was a knock at the door.

"Oh gee, I wonder who that could be!" Carly answered the door and there stood Freddie holding a huge heart shaped Fat Cake. He made his way inside and blocked the TV from Sam's view.

"Will you get outta the way Fredward, I'm trying to-" the was mesmerized by the delicious pastry in front of her.

"Merry Christmas, Sam" Freddie smiled.

"B-B-B-But I didn't get you anything…" Sam stammered.

"You already did."

"What? How?"

"By you reacting the way you did, it showed me that you really cared for me. I really want to see that sensitive side in you more often."

Sam leapt off the couch. Freddie sat the huge plate of Fat Cake on the table as Sam tackled him with a kiss.

Freddie pulled back "What are you waiting for? Eat the cake!"

Sam got on her knees in front of the Fat Cake. Did she take her time devouring every bite? No. Did she swallow the whole thing in a flash? No. Instead, she stuck her face into the cake. Freddie and Carly looked at each other. Granddad came downstairs to find Sam's face buried into the cake.

"My god, kids, is she alright?" he said panicked.

"She's fine, Granddad. She's just being happy." Carly replied.

Seconds later, the door opened as Spencer skipped happily "She wants to marry me! She wants to marry me! I'm getting married! I'm engaaaged!" he sang happily as Leah followed behind him laughing.

"Oh my god, you proposed??" Carly asked.

"Yup!" Spencer couldn't stand still or calm down.

"We're gonna be sisters!!" Leah hugged Carly.

Everyone in the loft congratulated them as Leah brought Noah out of the room to tell him the news even though he was too young to understand. Sam popped her head from the cake looking a mess as she let out a moan of pure happiness "My god, I LOVE THIS" she said as she stuck her face back into the cake.

"Uh, what's wrong with Sam?" Spencer asked "Is she okay? And is that a giant heart shaped Fat Cake?"

"She's fine. And yes it is" Carly replied smiling. She heard her cell phone beep and she went to check it.

_Message from Shane:  
__Hey! Are you free tomorrow? Movies? ;-)_

Carly smiled as she replied to his message. Today was a great day.

**FIN.**


End file.
